A Very Lilly (And Kate) Christmas Story
by Gordon Pasha
Summary: It's Christmastime in Jasper and Lilly is excitedly expecting a visit from Old St. Nick. But what happens when Kate decides that it's time Lilly learned the truth about Santa Claus?
1. Home for the Holidays

**Hey, everyone. It's that time of year again and Christmas will be here tomorrow. And I got you all the perfect gift this year; a special _Alpha and Omega_ Christmas two-shot! Here's Part 1, and Part 2 will follow shortly.**

**Now don't say I never got you anything nice for Christmas...**

* * *

Kate and Humphrey slowly made their way up the path leading toward Eve and Winston's den. It was Christmastime in Jasper, the first Christmas since Kate and Lilly had moved into their own dens, and Kate was looking forward to returning to her parent's home for the holidays.

Humphrey was, however, much less thrilled. As he looked around at the tall snow-drifts, Humphrey thought about how he had to drop out of the traditional holiday log-sledding with Salty, Shakey, and Mooch. Nor was he keen on spending the next several days with Kate's volatile mother-in-law. He remembered the day Eve came to their den and invited them over for the holidays. Kate had been out hunting, so Eve directly addressed Humphrey.

"Humphrey, since you're now a part of the family," she had said, "Kate's father and I thought it would be nice if the two of you could spend the Yuletide with us."

"Um, thanks," Humphrey had said as politely as he could, "but I kinda already had plans. Maybe next year."

Eve had smiled sweetly at him and even chuckled a little. But just as Humphrey started to believe his life wasn't in danger, Eve had said, "Let me rephrase that. If you dare so much as think about keeping my baby away from her family on Christmas, I will rip out your kidneys, pound them into jam, spread it on bread, and force it down your throat!"

Humphrey didn't really see a way he could argue with that. So here he was, walking slowly with Kate, fully expecting twelve days of torture. At least Garth would be there, so he'd have someone to pull Christmas pranks on. That would be fun.

As Humphrey silently plotted out how to make Garth's holiday life miserable, he felt something rush past him. He had no idea what it could be, since he hadn't seen anything coming his way. A quick glance over his shoulder didn't reveal anything either. Funny, it felt just like a small wolf had rushed past him but no wolf was anywhere to be seen.

"Lilly, wait up!" Kate called down the path. And suddenly, Humphrey saw two lavender eyes seem to appear out of nowhere, followed by a round black nose. Humphrey laughed at himself as he realized what he should have known all along; Lilly had rushed past him but he hadn't noticed her because her white fur blended in so perfectly with the snow.

Lilly now came back toward them. "Where you going, sis?" Kate asked. "Mom and dad driving you crazy already?'

Humphrey smiled. Under his tutelage, Kate was starting to develop a sense of humor.

Lilly trotted up to them and smiled. "No, I've got something really important to do! I've got to get my letter to Santa Claus before Christmas comes. How else is he going to know what I want? Hey, sis, did you already get your letter sent?"

"Uh, yeah," Kate lied. She, of course, did not send letters to Santa Claus, but she didn't want to spoil Lilly's fun.

"You're always on time with everything," Lilly said with a smile. "I bet Santa's already got all your presents ready! I've got to hurry so that he doesn't forget about me too!"

On that note, Lilly turned around and practically skipped down the path.

Humphrey turned to Kate as they watched her go. "Santa Claus? Really?"

Kate smiled bashfully. "You know Lilly, Humphrey. She's still a puppy at heart."

"She's practically a pack leader now," Humphrey countered as he paced around Kate. "Don't you think it's time she learned the truth about Santa Claus?"

Kate shook her head. "Come on, Humphrey. What's the harm in letting her think Santa Claus is going to come and bring her presents? It makes her so happy."

"Okay," Humphrey said, obviously not agreeing, "but she's going to have to find out eventually. We all have to grow up sometime."

With that, the Alpha and the Omega continued upward toward the den.

* * *

"You'll make sure to get this to Santa, promise?" Lilly said as she handed off her letter written on a piece of bark.

"You have our word of honor," Paddy said as he took it from her. "We'll be certain to hand it to him personally."

"Paddy, please," Marcel said as he stood on a tree branch above them, practicing his golf swing. With this caddy silenced, Marcel proceeded to repeat the exact same thing as though he was the one who thought of it. "Rest assured, mon chéri, we'll be certain to hand it to him personally."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Marcel, Mr. Paddy!" Lilly said as her tail wagged furiously.

"Oui," Marcel continued, "we promise that we'll get it there no matter what. Even if it kills Paddy, that letter will end up in Papa Noel's hands."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lilly shouted before kissing Paddy on the cheek (Marcel being too high for her to reach). Paddy threw up his wings in front of him to protect himself, the natural response to the mouth of a large predator nearing him, but relaxed when he realized that she meant no ill-will.

He smiled and nodded as he took flight. "It will be good to get back to the North Pole. We haven't been there since 2006, if memory serves."

"It was 2007," Marcel said, taking flight as well. "But it was never the same since the ice-cap melted away. No room for a golf course, then."

"I hear they've remodeled since then," Paddy said. "Water-proofed the rooms and everything."

"Well, they'll certainly need it," Marcel said, "if they want my business again."

Lilly watched the two fowl fly off and disappear into the sky, carrying on their vigorous discussion all the while. She felt her heart grow warm as she turned to head back to her parents' den, to head back home.

* * *

As Lilly returned to the den, she was surprised by the sight she saw. Humphrey and Garth were currently working together to string up painted acorns on the walls. There were no arguments, no practical jokes, no witty barbs between them, just complete cooperation. If she didn't know better, she would have thought Humphrey and Garth were friends. Lilly was wondering what could have caused this Christmas miracle when Eve walked by, singing an old carol to herself.

"Deck the halls with Humphrey and Garth's skulls if they do anything to mess up our Christmas, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la."

"Oh, that's why," Lilly quietly said to herself.

Suddenly, however, Garth stopped what he was doing. He had picked up a familiar scent being carried into the den by the wind. He closed his eyes in disgust. "Edgar," he mouthed.

Sure enough, Edgar immediately burst into the den. "Hey, family, are we ready to get this Christmas party started?"

"Edgar, we are not your family," Garth said. "Why don't you go home to your real family?"

"I don't like any of them," Edgar said.

"You don't like us, either," Humphrey observed.

Edgar smiled in embarrassment. "Yeah, but… as long as I'm here, Sweets and Candy won't come after me!"

"Oh, Edgar, you're not in debt to them again, are you?" Garth said in exasperation.

"What can I say?" Edgar said. "I had a hot tip that didn't pay off. That's the last time I take bets on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir."

"So, now what, Sweets and Candy are going to try to break your legs again?" Humphrey asked.

"And my tail," Edgar said.

"Your tail?" Humphrey and Garth said together.

Edgar nodded. "They said that, since it's the holidays, they should offer a little something extra for their clients. See, that's why I like them. You wouldn't get that sort of generosity from most loan sharks."

Eve had now realized that a foreign element was disturbing her perfect Christmas scene. "Edgar, go home," she said, "or I'll be the one to break your legs and your tail right now… and your spine… and your ribs… and, well, you get the idea."

Edgar did indeed get the idea, but he decided it would be better to try winning over Eve than facing Sweets and Candy. To this end, he held out a platter he was carrying. "But… but I brought cookies!"

Eve took a cookie and examined it. On it was a picture of Garth and Lilly from their wedding. Eve also noticed that the same picture was on the platter.

"Edgar's parents make commemorative plates," Garth explained helpfully.

"And they baked the cookies, too," Edgar said. "I thought it would be the perfect gift since you're always saying how much you want to bite off Garth's head!"

Eve smiled as she took the platter. "How sweet! Now go home or die."

Edgar realized that maybe it would be better to take his chances with Sweets and Candy. He quickly ran off before Eve could decide to make him into Christmas dinner.

Kate had been here the whole time, but she hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on. Rather, Humphrey's words kept repeating over and over in her mind. "She's practically a pack leader. Don't you think it's time she learned the truth about Santa Claus?"

Kate knew that Lilly was going to have to take over the United Pack with Garth some day and she would need to act like a responsible and mature adult to do it. But Lilly had a lot of growing up to do. Kate knew that she would have her work cut out for her in getting her sister ready to be her partner in governing the pack. So maybe it was time that Lilly learned the truth about Santa Claus after all. Kate hated to do this to her, but it might be the only way to get her to grow up. It was necessary, for the good of the pack.

"Sis, can I talk to you?" Kate said, getting up and walking toward Lilly.

"Um, sure," Lilly said, sensing that something was up.

"Let's go for a walk," Kate said. "It's kinda something I need to tell you alone." She knew her parents would disapprove of her ruining Lilly's Christmas, so she decided it would be best to tell Lilly in private.

"Okay…" Lilly said, following her. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

**What did Kate tell Lilly? And how did Lilly respond?**

**Read on.**


	2. The Truth About Santa Claus

**Here's Part 2, just like I promised. This should be a really fun one for all you Kate fans out there...**

* * *

"Sis… do you… think… this is… far… enough?" Lilly said, desperately trying to keep up with her sister but feeling like her body just wouldn't let her go any further.

Kate stopped suddenly. She had been so busy trying to figure out a nice way of breaking the truth to Lilly that she didn't notice that she had led Lilly all the way to the far end of the territory.

"Lilly, I am so sorry," Kate said as she turned around. However, she didn't see Lilly anywhere.

Suddenly, she fell on her back and heard Lilly laughing above her. Lilly had jumped out of a large snow-drift and tackled Kate. It was the first time she had ever caught Kate off-guard like that.

"I got you, sis!" Lilly said with a laugh.

Kate smiled. "You sure did, Lilly."

But both sisters knew it was time to talk. So Lilly got off Kate and sat down patiently by a nearby frozen-over brook, waiting for Kate to begin. Kate walked over and sat next to her.

"Lilly, I've got something to tell you and I know this may be hard for you to hear," Kate said. "But it's about Santa Claus…"

Lilly waited expectantly, even apprehensively, for Kate to continue. Kate knew it was now or never.

"Santa Claus isn't coming to Jasper Park this year," Kate said. "In fact, he's never coming. That letter of yours isn't going to get answered. I'm sorry."

Then Lilly did something Kate didn't expect. She smiled. "Kate, if you're going to tell me Santa Claus doesn't exist, you don't need to. Mom and dad already did this morning. But I don't believe them. I know Santa Claus is real and he's going to answer my letter!"

Kate shook her head at Lilly's naiveté. "Lilly, when mom and dad told you that, they weren't telling you the truth. They only said all that to keep from hurting your feelings. Here's the truth about why Santa Claus isn't coming to Jasper."

* * *

It was a year earlier. Kate and Lilly were engaged to Humphrey and Garth but hadn't married them yet and hadn't moved away from home. But they both knew it would be their last Christmas living in their parents' den. As such, Kate had wanted to make it extra special and had volunteered to hunt down extra caribou for Christmas dinner.

But it was late Christmas Eve, nearly midnight, and Kate had not managed to find any caribou. It was almost as though all of them had taken a holiday vacation.

"Maybe they're all vacationing in the Bahamas," Kate joked to herself. Humphrey was definitely beginning to have an effect on her.

But then, her nose picked up a scent. Was it? Could it be? Yes, caribou! Not many of them, not a whole herd, but definitely caribou. Kate thought she could make out nine distinct scents. Nine caribou would be just about enough for her family, she thought.

It was a Christmas miracle.

Immediately, Kate went into stealth mode. She lowered herself to the ground and began to sneak quietly in the direction of the scents. What surprised her, however, was that the scents seemed to becoming from the direction of her parents' den.

In fact, if Kate's senses were correct – and they were never wrong – the caribou must be right in front of her parents' den! Kate couldn't fathom what they were doing there, but she knew it was all the better for her – there'd be much less distance to transport the meat.

Kate smiled as she approached her childhood home. But she was in for another astounding sight as it came into view. There were no caribou in the valley below! Kate paused, completely shocked for a moment. Was it possible that her keen sense of smell was wrong? Had she misjudged the distance or the location? Could she have been mistaken the whole time?

Yeah, right.

Kate knew there were caribou about. She could not be mistaken; the scent was too strong. So she did the only thing she could; she followed it.

It led her up the mountain, up the path leading to her parents' den. She had no clue what was going on, but she had to follow the evidence of her nostrils. She was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.

And that's when Kate saw an impossible sight. Nine caribou standing together on the cliff in front of the den. Nine caribou, held together in harnesses that were attached to a large, red sleigh.

Kate's jaw dropped as she studied the scene. Something bizarre was going on here. Something very bizarre indeed. It reminded Kate of something but she couldn't figure out quite what. But she knew she had a duty to perform and she was going to do it, strange sights or no.

So she carefully, oh-so-stealthily crept toward the lead caribou. It was then that she noticed that this caribou had a bright red shining nose. This, for the first time, gave Kate pause. It was as though she was one of those knights of old who had wandering into the forest and come out, without knowing it, into the land of fairies.

But Kate was not given to such imaginative speculation. She had embarked on her course and she would follow it, no matter what happened. She was nothing if not decisive.

So Kate crept up on the fairy creature and prepared her attack. It had no clue that she was there….

And then, in an instant, she was off, launching herself through the air and spinning toward her prey. Before the caribou even knew what was up, Kate was on top of it and ready to deliver the killing blow. But things managed to go a little too well. The force of this assault toppled the caribou – which in turn toppled his friends all lined up behind him. And since the caribou had been standing at the edge of the cliff, soon caribou, Kate, and sleigh were all toppling together over it. This is why it is a bad idea to attack caribou standing at the edge of a cliff.

This is also why it is a bad idea for caribou to stand at the edge of a cliff.

Kate could barely comprehend what happened next. For, in the seconds that they seemed to take their fatal plunge, the caribou all became incredibly agitated and started to kick off as though they were still on solid ground. Kate quickly scrambled to reach the belly of her caribou, hoping that it would land on its back and save her from the brunt of the impact.

She closed her eyes as she braced for the worst.

But the worst never came. Instead of hitting the ground, Kate felt herself being jerked wildly upward. Working up the courage to open her eyes, she saw that everything was upside down. Or rather, she was upside down. What was worse, the whole of Jasper Park was flying past underneath her at an impossible speed. It was a velocity even Kate couldn't fathom. Kate dug her claws into the caribou's sides and hung on for dear life.

There was only one conclusion to be made from all this. Kate was flying. The caribou was flying. The sleigh was flying. Kate still couldn't figure out what this reminded her of.

The caribou she was holding onto did not take kindly to this predator digging into it. Suddenly, it began to maneuver wildly in the sky, trying to force Kate off in any way it could. Sharp turns, ninety-decree plunges, wild loops – the most frightening roller coast on Earth could not top it. Even Kate couldn't hold on like this forever. She was starting to lose her grip.

As her paws finally came undone, Kate used all of her strength to throw herself over the caribou and land on its back. She planned to ricochet off of it and toward the sleigh, but just as she landed, the caribou bucked, giving her way too much momentum. She went flying much higher than she planned, right up into the upper air.

Kate shot up and saw the full moon bright above her. And she realized that the clouds were all below her. "Not good," she said.

Kate fell fast through the sky like a comet. She had no idea how she was going to get through this one. So she did the only thing she could think of. She tried to direct her fall toward where she estimated the magic caribou should be. She knew she had to get this just right or it was the end of her. She said a little prayer as she crashed through the cloud-cover and back into the mortal sphere.

And then, just as she had prayed for, the caribou were right under her. She had gotten it right. But no time to savor it; she was still in freefall. So she used all of her skill to turn herself in the direction of the nearest caribou. Barely even landing on it, she ricocheted herself off, from one caribou to the next until she reached the sleigh. Kate managed to shoot herself into the sleigh, but her momentum was so great that she nearly crashed straight through the floor of it.

"I really hope this thing is insured with Geico!" Kate said as the upper half of her body hung down through the large hole she had made in the bottom of the sleigh.

She forced herself back into the sleigh and grabbed at the reins. Kate did her best to stir the thing and get the caribou to turn back toward her den, but it was no use. They were all too panicked to pay attention to the reins or to the driver. It looked as though Kate would be their unwilling passenger for a bumpy ride across the heavens.

But then, a whistle blew, louder and longer – and yet somehow more calm and peaceful – than Kate had ever heard. And just like that, all the caribou were tranquil. They returned to their original and natural order, as though Kate was not even present, and gently they glided back toward the den and the cliff. Kate fell back on the seat of the sleigh and gave a sign of heavy relief.

Before she knew it, the caribou had gently landed and she was safe back at her parents' home. But before Kate could truly appreciate this occurrence, she saw towering above her a tall man, dressed entirely in red, with a long bushy white beard. He let a whistle drop from his lips and fall on a gold chain around his neck while in his gloved hand he carried a sack of some sort.

"It looks like somebody belongs on the naughty list," he said disapprovingly.

Now something clicked in Kate's head. She remembered hearing Lilly mention something about a human like this, who flew through the sky with magical caribou and delivered toys to good little boys and girls. Kate had always ignored it, figuring it was just one of Lilly's silly ideas. It always unnerved her when Lilly's silly ideas turned out to be true.

"Um, St. Nicholas, I presume?" Kate said with a nervous smile as she sulked out of the sleigh.

But Santa Claus was busy examining his caribou. "You've given my reindeer quite a fright, haven't you?" Then he turned toward his lead, the one with the red nose. "And what have you done to Rudolph? Those are some nasty cuts! He's going to need shots after this!" Turning back to the sleigh. "And my sleigh! I just bought this one! Do you even know how much a 2013 model costs? I had the floorboards custom-made in Germany! Oh, I have to return to the North Pole immediately. This is going to put me terribly behind schedule. At this rate, I might have to skip Norway this year!"

"Sorry?" Kate said, sitting off to the side and full of embarrassment.

"Sorry? You're sorry?" Santa Claus said. "You've ruined Christmas for countless Norwegian boys and girls! I don't think sorry begins to cover it!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't use caribou as transport in wolf territory – where we hunt and eat them – this never would have happened," Kate said, not taking the criticism too well.

Santa Claus just sighed and shook his head. "What is the world coming to when a man can't land his sleigh on a cliff without being harassed by wolves? If you ask me, this puts you and your whole pack on the naughty list for life!"

And before Kate could say another word, he jumped into his sleigh and sped off into the night. And there was no Christmas cheer in Norway that year.

* * *

"And that's why Santa Claus isn't coming to Jasper this year," Kate said, finishing her story. "I'm sorry, Lilly."

Lilly smiled at her, trying to hold back laughter at Kate's marvelous misadventure. "Kate, you sure messed up big time, huh? No wonder Santa put you on the naughty list!"

Kate looked away. "Yeah, well there's no need to rub it in."

"Relax, Kate," Lilly said kindly. "I'm sure Santa wouldn't put all of Jasper on the naughty list just because of one wolf. And I'm sure he's not still mad at you for what you did. It has been a whole year and you've done so much for the pack since then. I still think he'll come."

"But–" Kate began. She thought her sister was being hopelessly naïve about this.

"No buts," Lilly answered. "Santa's coming and that's all there is to it. Just you wait and see!"

* * *

It was 3:00 a.m., Christmas morning. Winston and Eve's den. Everyone was sound asleep in various areas of the cave. No one was even remotely conscious. No one except Lilly and Kate. Though they both slept, neither of them was fully asleep. Even as they rested, their ears remained alert, listening for any sign of a special intruder.

And, at last, it happened. The sound of old boots trudging into the cave. And in an instant, Lilly jumped to her feet. There she saw a large man, old and of white beard, carefully laying out presents from a sack by his side. She knew who it was.

"Kate, wake up!" she whispered. But she did not even need to say it. Kate had already awoken, her Alpha training making her even more alert to the softest noise than Lilly was this night. She too saw St. Nicholas, standing before them.

Immediately, the great man turned toward them and signaled to be quiet. He put his finger to his lips and then pointed toward Eve, sleeping soundly and crushing one of the cookies with Garth's face on it. A smile crept over her face as she dreamt that she was actually pounding the real Garth's face in.

Lilly nodded in agreement and waited for Santa Claus to step outside the den before saying, "I knew that you would come."

"I was tempted not to after what _she_ did last year," Santa Claus said, pointing at Kate, who hid her face behind Lilly in embarrassment. "But then my old friends Marcel and Paddy stopped by to tell me about a sweet little she-wolf who was putting all her faith in Santa Claus. And I knew I could never let her down."

Lilly's lavender lights beamed with joy. "I told Kate you wouldn't blame the whole pack for what she did last year. But she never listens to me."

Santa Claus laughed. "Of course I wouldn't keep the whole pack on the naughty list because of one wolf. Believe me, between Sweets and Candy breaking legs, Reba and Janice stealing meat, and everyone else becoming gambling addicts, I have plenty of other reasons to put the whole pack on the naughty list. But as long as there's one nice wolf in this pack, I won't give up on the whole lot of you. You'll find your gifts waiting for you in the morning. I even left something for _her_."

Again, he pointed at Kate. Lilly turned around to face her. "And I'm sure Kate would gladly apologize again for what she did," the white Omega said. "Right, Kate? _Right?_"

Kate, still embarrassed, nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." This was not the snappy, fake apology she had made last year. This time she meant it.

Saint Nicholas laughed. "That was all I ask for. Kate, you should really listen to your sister more often. She's got a good head on her shoulders. You're smart and strong, but you need to think things through more often. That's where she comes in. You two need each other, and together you'll both make great leaders someday. I have the utmost faith in you!"

His peace being said, Santa Claus returned to his sleigh and prepared to take off into the night. Lilly waved at him as he prepared to go. Rudolph happened to look in the wolves' direction and Kate, not one to forgive or forget old scores, pointed at her eyes and then at his in an 'I'm watching you' gesture. Rudolph quickly averted his gaze.

"Well, I'd love to stay all night, but I've got plenty of other stops to make," Santa Claus said. "I can't possibly miss Norway two years in a row."

And just like that, he sped off into the night, leaving the two wolves to watch him disappear in the direction of the moon. Soon, he was out of sight completely, leaving only his presents and the memory of this incredible meeting behind. For a long time afterward, the two wolven sisters sat in silence.

"Told ya so," Lilly said, breaking the silence at last.

Kate smiled. "Yeah, Lilly, you did."

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Lilly!"

And the two sisters shared a Christmas hug as the stars danced around the moon above. It would be a Christmas they would never forget.

* * *

**Merry Christmas!**


End file.
